The starting rotation for the Milwaukee Brewers this season is going to be closely scrutinized throughout the year. With the departure of longtime ace Freddy Peralta and the current injury suffered by Quinn Priester, two-fifths of the starters from 2025 are non-existent thus far in 2026.
One of the holdovers from last year, Chad Patrick, has gotten off to a blazing start this season.
In his four appearances (three starts) over the first three weeks, Patrick has been nothing but spectacular. He is 1-0 with just a 1.16 WHIP and a minuscule 0.90 ERA. He has struck out nine batters and walked just two in his 19 innings of work.
Priester’s return and the potential of new rotation members Kyle Harrison and Brandon Sproat are unknown; therefore, Patrick’s consistency on the bump will be vital to Milwaukee’s fortunes.
Patrick threw 6.2 innings of one-run pitching, making Wednesday’s outing against the Toronto Blue Jays his longest of the young season. In fact, Patrick became the first Brewers starter to pitch into the seventh inning. With the 2-1 triumph, Milwaukee snapped a six-game losing streak.
While Patrick did not factor into the decision, he did keep the powerful Toronto offense at bay long enough for the Brewers’ bats, and a little luck, to win it late.
Leading off the eighth inning with the Brewers down 1-0, Sal Frelick chopped a ball in front of the plate. Under normal circumstances at the domed American Family Field, the dry dirt in front of the plate would serve as a bouncy surface for the catcher. During the game, however, rain leaked from the enclosed roof, causing the dirt to soften and the ball hit by Frelick checked up like a stellar nine-iron shot. Frelick reached base and became the first of the necessary runs to score.
The fact that Patrick was able to go so deeply in the game was not lost on the 27-year-old right-hander.
“Yeah, it’s always good to go deep like that in games and obviously still be in the game,” he told the media after Wednesday’s game. “And for us to find a way to scratch a couple runs there in the eighth, it’s a good feeling for us. We definitely needed that win, so being able to do that and salvage some of the pen, it’s cool.”
The decision to keep Patrick in the game that long meant he would be facing the Blue Jays’ lineup for the third time, which is an uncommon occurrence in today’s baseball. To his credit, that never entered Patrick’s focus.
“I don’t think about it,” he said about facing hitters a third time. “I just think about it as, you know, it’s the third time I’ve seen the guy and he’s, you know, probably done some studying on the iPads in the dugout and his approach might be a little different, but you gotta have the same mentality and just go out there and compete.”
So far, so good for Patrick, and he is clearly aware of his role on this staff: to get outs and put his team in a position to win.
“I think everything’s coming together,” he said. “You know, I’m not gonna do anything sexy out there. It’s, ‘here you go, hit it, swing and miss, you know, do what you do,’ but my job is to get weak contact and as soon as the misses come, in they go.”
Since Patrick arrived in Milwaukee as a full-time Brewer last year, he has been a steady and dependable asset to the starting rotation. While he only registered three wins, his ERA was more than respectable at 3.53. He led all National League rookies with 23 starts and 127 strikeouts, all while pitching 119.2 innings.
Following his debut campaign, big things were expected from him in 2026. Through the first three weeks of the season, Patrick is making those forecasts of accomplishment a reality.
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